Taking a dog or cat out of Morocco: official requirements

Leaving Morocco

The steps

What the authorities in Morocco ask before your pet leaves, mostly the health certificate and who has to sign or endorse it.

1. Paperwork

   ONSSA export health certificate (150 dirhams)

   An ONSSA official vet issues your pet's health certificate on the model agreed with your destination (ONSSA lists them by destination country). Ask the veterinary service where you live how and when to apply. The fee for a veterinary health certificate for exporting live animals is 150 dirhams per certificate.

   Details and the official words

   “Contrôle à l’exportation des animaux de compagnie (Chiens, Chats et Furets)”

   “Certificat sanitaire vétérinaire à l’exportation des animaux vivants et des produits de multiplication animale”

   “(à l'exception des chevaux)”

   “Je soussigné, vétérinaire officiel certifie que les animaux désignés ci-dessus et examinés ce jour”

   “Ont été examinés au cours des 48 dernières heures, ont été trouvés en bon état de santé et n’ont présenté aucun signe clinique de maladies contagieuses propres à l’espèce”

   “Ont été correctement vaccinés contre la rage par un vaccin inactivé (ci-joint l’attestation de vaccination contre la rage)”

Only for some destinations

1. IdentificationCats only

   Cats to the US: permanent identification before the rabies vaccination

   Applies when: you travel to the United States or Hawaii (US)

   ONSSA's certificate for cats going to the United States states that your cat was identified with a permanent mark (a tattoo, a microchip or a distinctive sign) before its rabies vaccination.

   Details and the official words

   “Ont été identifiés à l’aide d’une marque permanente, préalablement à leur vaccination contre la rage”

   “tatouage, puce ou signe distinctif”

2. VaccinationCats only

   Cats to the US: rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travelling

   Applies when: you travel to the United States or Hawaii (US)

   Your cat must be correctly vaccinated against rabies with an inactivated vaccine at least 21 days before it travels. An ONSSA official vet signs a rabies vaccination attestation (vaccine, maker, batch, expiry, dates of the first vaccination and of the last booster) that goes with the certificate.

   Details and the official words

   The attestation asks for the dates of both the first vaccination and the last booster but doesn't say whether a recent booster restarts the 21 days. If your cat's booster is due within 3 weeks of the trip, ask the veterinary service.

   “Je soussigné, vétérinaire officiel, certifie que les animaux désignés ci-dessus ont été correctement vaccinés contre la rage par un vaccin inactivé, et que 21 jours au moins se sont écoulés après la vaccination antirabique”

   “have been correctly vaccinated against rabies with inactivated vaccine at least 21 days before travelling”

From the rule file

When each step happens

The timing rules for each step, in plain words. The planner turns them into dates for your flight.

• ONSSA export health certificate (150 dirhams)

  • Within 48 hours before departure

• Cats to the US: permanent identification before the rabies vaccination

  • On or before the day of the rabies vaccination

• Cats to the US: rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travelling

  • At least 21 days before departure

Worked out from the rules

Where you can go from Morocco, and how long it takes

How each destination we cover treats pets from Morocco, as its authority names the group, and the least time its official waits allow. Tap a destination for the full route.

Money

What it costs to leave Morocco

Morocco’s government fees for a pet leaving, exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Morocco publish. The destination’s own fees come on top: they are in the table above and on each route.

Notes

Good to know

• For any question about taking your pet abroad, ONSSA asks you to contact its veterinary service where you live; the export page links a list of these services with their addresses and phone numbers. ONSSA publishes no lead time, so ask them early.
• ONSSA's list of current export health certificates has no model for taking this species to your destination. Ask the veterinary service where you live which certificate ONSSA can issue, and check with your destination's authority which document it accepts, before you book.Applies when: except when (you travel to any EU country, Saudi Arabia, Albania, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Ecuador, Hong Kong SAR China, Japan, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Norway, Panama, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland (UK), Tunisia, Türkiye, South Korea, Ukraine, Kuwait, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Mauritania, Nepal, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Pakistan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, the Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Mauritius, Colombia, Peru, Egypt, Mexico, Malawi, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand or South Africa, or your pet is a dog and you travel to India, Rwanda or El Salvador, or your pet is a cat and you travel to the United States or Hawaii (US))

Where this comes from

Official sources

Questions owners ask